Work Text:
The conditions are perfect. Rinne is out of the house, Niki ate beforehand, according to his mother’s last email, the Shiinas should have been somewhere with decent signal by now, and their time zones should permit them to talk at relatively easy hours.
Maybe the call isn’t that urgent, though. His parents don’t need to know this; they don’t bother with Japanese television, so Niki could sing and dance to his heart’s content without their knowledge.
(But, Niki hopes that they’ll care, at least a little, about how he is doing these days.)
Glancing at the clock, his nausea kicks in. Rinne could come back any minute now, and his parents are probably getting ready to leave their hotel. Yesterday, he had been absolutely resolute when informing Rinne that he would let his parents know his future aspirations. All of that strength seems to have sapped out overnight.
Biting the side of his cheek, Niki inputs the digits from his parents’ online business information, the press of each button reverberating like gunshots.
It’s fine. Everything’s fine. Besides his constitution, his parents have no reason to hate him yet. He never deliberately caused trouble, always attempting to keep a smile on both his face and theirs. (Excluding the fact that he chose Japan, the nation that exiled his father, over them.)
The phone rings, once, twice, thrice, before a tinny voice mumbles, “Hello?”
It isn’t until he hears his mother that he realizes that he has forgotten what his parents sound like. The distortion of the device certainly doesn’t help.
With enthusiasm that actors pray to replicate, Niki responds, “Hi, Mama! It’s Niki. How have you been?”
“Niki?” A confused, awkward pause consumes the conversation for a few seconds.
“Oh, sweetheart, look at how much you’ve grown! Well, I can’t look at you, but you sound so different! You’re probably going through puberty, aren’t you?”
What an absolute mistake! Why did I think this was a good idea? Maybe television was right- parents are seriously so weird!
There’s chatter in the background, of which Niki can only catch snippets.
“… if you press this button-“
“-I know! Just let me-“
“No, wait…. Give it to….”
“There!”
Niki swallows. The person speaking with his mother is definitely his father.
“Niki~! We’ve put on the speaker! Now, go on, dear.”
Hesitantly, his father, calls out, “Niki?”
Using both hands to support the phone, Niki breathes in and out. This is what he wants, he reminds himself.
“Hello, Papa! It’s been so long!”
If they’re fine, he’s fine.
“Nyahaha~! You’re absolutely right. God, I miss being able to see you.” But does he really? Niki hasn’t bothered checking up flights, but catching one to Japan wouldn’t be too expensive. It’s fine if his father doesn’t want to- it’s his right to live as he pleases.
“So, what have you been up to, buddy?”
There’s only so many ways explain how he picked up some random shady older teenager off the side of the road who turned out to be a monarch AND promptly uprooted his old lifestyle in favour of one his parents would despise, and Niki elects not to use any of them.
“I’ve made a friend.”
The gasp on the other end is too loud for his liking.
His mother coos: “That’s wonderful, sweetie! What’s he like?”
Niki honestly feels like he is being treated like a kindergartener. He cannot recall his neighbours ever adopting such a fake, saccharine tone in recent years. At least talking to them isn’t half as bad as he thought. Being unable to see their faces does him wonders.
“Well he’s…,” noisy, inconsiderate, and greedy. He steals my money to gamble and doesn’t offer his thanks when I wordlessly do his laundry, or feed him, or anything. It is absolute hell to argue with him, and the fact that you two are out of the country means that you are saved from his presence. He respects me more than anyone ever has or should, and is more than willing to go above and beyond for those who he deems worthy. “He’s cool, but he is older than me by maybe two or three years, so we don’t spend a lot of time together.”
“Have you ever invited him over?” his mother inquires.
Yeah, he sleeps next to me every single day.
“Sometimes, when he isn’t busy. He has a pretty intense job.”
Finally, his father opens his mouth again: “What’s his name?”
“Oh, it’s Rinne-kun.”
“Rinne-kun,” his mother tests out. “What a lovely name! Seems very charming~.” She certainly would never say that if she knew him.
“You mentioned a job?” His father cuts in.
He didn’t want his parents worrying over Rinne, even if they should, but luckily, lying is off the table today as he supplies, “Rinne doesn’t like to keep one job for long. These days he’s a waiter at a restaurant. On good days, he brings me leftovers!”
That gains his parents approval, as he can assume from their satisfied hums.
Until Niki threatens to crush it when his father asks, “And what about you? Any plans for the future?”
This is why I called. It’s fine. It’s fine!
Rinne used to reduce the impact of news by stating it nonchalantly. Granted, he never succeeded at it, but Niki can see the appeal now.
“Niki?”
Gulping, he forces a smile onto his face.
With his most normal tone, he states, “I want to try becoming an idol.”
A pause.
“No, you don’t.”
“I do.”
“That cannot be right. Niki, do you have any idea how awful that industry is! B-Besides, you can’t do it. All that exercise and effort will take away your energy. You’ll starve to death!”
“I’m fine, Papa.” He rehearsed this. He knows what to say. “I’ve already practiced lots of singing and dancing before-“
“Are you not listening to me, Niki Shiina? You will not be an idol! I forbid you from ever thinking of such a thing!”
That’s not fair in the slightest. If Niki is hungry, he’ll eat; if he’s tired, he’ll sleep; and if singing with Rinne makes him happy, then why should he throw that happiness away for a man he cannot remember?
“My submissions are already in, Papa! Rinne-kun and I could be called in any minute. I just wanted you to be happy, too.”
“Rinne?” his father spits, ignoring the last half. “Did that kid force you into this? I cannot believe you, Niki. This is not how we raised you.”
That’s right. You didn’t raise me.
His mother and father start speaking among themselves, their voices overlapping. Niki is tired of it. He does not want to argue about this.
He presses the end button on the call. The phone reverts to his homescreen.
Throwing himself onto the coach, the tears start flowing, his heartbeat thundering in his ears. Not counting his hunger tantrums, Niki never fought with his parents. From the way his classmates talked about it, arguing sounded so normal, but Niki is filled with so much agony. As fun as it is to practice being an idol, he does get absolutely parched eventually. What if his father is right, and he reaches his limit?
But his father was already wrong about so many other things. He really inconvenienced other people when the scandal was released, making him look all the more guilty.
Without taking note of the arms wrapped around him, Niki immediately draws deeper into the embrace-
-No! Being sensitive like this will just ruin other people’s lives. He shouldn’t be so selfish.
He rises, puffy eyes settling upon his roommate’s concerned face.
“Hey,” Rinne awkwardly greets.
Niki smiles, as he should, and pulls back, trying to say something, but the words elude him as he collapses.
“I heard. Half of it, that is.” Rinne admits as he fails to speak up. Niki would wish that he never heard it, but he wants to waste his wishes on something more useful instead.
Without waiting for a response, Rinne continues, “Family’s like that. They ain’t always gonna respect your wishes and dreams, ‘cuz they got their own ideals, and they expect ya to fulfill them as if ya don’t got a brain of your own to think with. But that’s part of what makes ya so great, Niki-kun- ya make your own decisions.
“Ya already did way better than I did when I told my folks. If I were your parents, I’d be proud of ya. But I ain’t. I’m just the guy whose life ya saved. And I don’t wanna be an idol with anyone else.” By the end, Rinne smiles gently, unlike his typical smirk.
As the embarrassment becomes unbearable, Niki tries to swat at his shoulder in his depleted state, unable to vocalize his disdain at how liberally Rinne compliments him, before burying his face into the cushion and passing out.
The scent of nikujaga when he wakes up an hour later reminds him of why he wanted to stand his ground against his father in the first place.
Being an idol will drain him, but his heart is full, and his stomach will surely be the same someday on this path.